I stumbled upon the idea of 'Mukhannath' translating to effeminate man or a man with female characteristics. I was just wondering if men were defined by their 'inversion' of gender would that be indicative of perhaps being defined by their sexual choices also or would homosexuality as a concept be anachronistic?
According to the historian Khaled El-Rouayheb (Before Homosexuality in the Arab-Islamic World, 1500-1800. University of Chicago Press, 2005), homosexuality as such did not exist in the Middle East before the 19th century. There were many men who engaged in sexual activities which we would today describe as homosexual, but these activities did not define their identities, and often did not prevent them from maintaining heterosexual relationships as well. The biggest example of this was pederasty, which was relatively common and generally seen as a normal type of relationship for beardless boys and older men to have, but didn't prevent the participants from living the rest of their lives in a 'heterosexual' manner. For Middle Easterners, the biggest issue was not the gender of the person whom one had sex with, but the manner in which one did so - it was socially acceptable for an older man to penetrate a beardless boy, but the reverse would have been met with severe social stigma.